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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · calf · swing · bear · sharp · bark · temple · march

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bark — to shout
  4. march — music
  5. swing — music
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. swing — to play on
  10. march — the month
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. march — the month
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. swing — in golf
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. chest — of your body
  21. sharp — clever
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — to put up with

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com